Ironically, articles like Zuberi’s and comments on Muslim message boards are the very reason I wrote those articles. It’s easy to bring the haterade on Fakih. For many of us, it might be second nature to point fingers and judge Fakih: CNN is doing it, lots of Muslims are doing it, conservative right-wingers are doing it.

But it’s a lot more difficult to accept Fakih and her choices, even if they don’t mirror how we think Muslim (or Arab) women should act. It’s more difficult to show support for her as a member of our communities, even if we don’t agree with the premise of the Miss USA pageant.

Furthermore, the Miss USA story isn’t much of one, and yet Fakih is denounced from all sides as if she’s a stain on Muslim America’s reputation. This woman isn’t an extremist who preaches hate and should be censured by the community–she’s a beauty queen.

Everyone and their mothers has already hated on her. I wrote my articles to bring some positivity to the discussion. This does not qualify as “letting go of [my] values.”